TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran warned the West against hitting it
with more sanctions over its nuclear plans, speaking before a
U.N. watchdog report likely to say Tehran is being more
transparent but not enough to show its aims are solely
peaceful.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made clear again Iran would
not halt uranium enrichment activities which Western powers
fear are aimed at yielding bombs but which Tehran calls a
civilian drive to produce electricity so it can export more
oil.

"Today the Iranian nation stands firm ... and will not
allow anyone to infringe on its rights even a small bit," he
was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency late on
Thursday.

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The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
was due on Friday to release its latest report on efforts since
2003 to resolve suspicions about Iran's nuclear program.

Diplomats familiar with IAEA monitoring said the report
would say Iran has given inspectors a look at technological
advances earlier kept of sight but not fulfilled a pledge to
clear up all questions about past activities by mid-February.

The report was also expected to say Iran was still not
being open enough for the IAEA to verify there are no hidden
military dimensions to the program, and confirm Iran is testing
new centrifuges able to enrich uranium faster than it has so
far.

The head of the Iranian parliament's national security and
foreign policy commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said he
expected a "positive" IAEA report, the ISNA news agency said.

But Britain and France said on Thursday they hoped the U.N.
Security Council would vote next week on a revised sanctions
resolution against Iran, suggesting they did not believe the
IAEA report would alter the case for new punitive measures.

Tehran denies wanting nuclear weapons and has ignored three
previous Security Council resolutions demanding that it freeze
its uranium enrichment program, which can produce fuel for
nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed the
righteousness of the Iranian nation in many of its reports and
it is in your advantage to end the story here," Ahmadinejad
said in reference to Western powers pressuring Iran.

"Our enemies should know that the Iranian nation is united
and powerful," he told war veterans in a southern province. "If
you are after starting a new game, be sure that you will not be
able to do anything except making trouble for yourself."

France's ambassador to the United Nations made it clear on
Thursday the IAEA report focused on the agency's investigations
of Iran's past nuclear activities and was therefore of little
relevance to the sanctions debate.

The United States, which supports the text drafted by
Britain, France and Germany, had hoped the resolution would be
passed weeks ago. But several non-Western council members
insisted they delay a vote until after IAEA issues its report.

The draft calls for asset freezes and mandatory travel bans
for specific Iranian officials and vigilance on Iranian banks.